science writer + photographer

Arsenic and old pesticides

Scienceline

January 17, 2016

Arsenic, the preferred poison of Victorian women in loveless marriages, still shows up in our food and drink all the time. These days, however, it doesn’t come from a vial in a discreetly tipped hand. Instead, it comes from the ground, where it is both a naturally occurring soil component and a remnant of old toxic pesticides.